Kayla and Matthew Galecki

In 2020, just before the shutdowns, Matthew and Kayla Galecki moved from Orlando, Florida to Charlotte, North Carolina. There, they started new careers with United Healthcare. It was an extremely busy year for the two of them, plunging into new projects despite 2020 being a difficult year for many. Still, along with another group that had also moved up from Orlando, they managed to build a new team and set up a new office space.
Things were going well and looking up for the Galeckis. They had their feet planted firmly on the road to success and were off to a great start! On the road map of life, their itinerary had much in common with most other adults: start a career and reach for financial success! Reach for the stars!
Many can relate to such a plan, but in the end, what we think we should be doing with our lives often differs from what we’d want to be doing with our lives. Later that same year, the Galeckis got their wake-up call, and were able to change the course of their destinies.
In November of 2020, a good friend, Brian, lost his battle with melanoma. He was only twenty-six and his death came as a great shock. Everyone had thought he was getting better, so there was no sense of urgency when lockdowns kept everyone apart. The text he sent out on his birthday, just two days before his passing, was made even more poignant as they didn’t know it would be the last time they heard from him.
The Galeckis flew to Orlando to speak at the funeral. Once surrounded by church community and best friends, talk began about how short life was. Amongst themselves, the Galeckis started talking about what they really wanted to with their lives together, considering the short amount of time they would also be given.
A farm was something they’d been talking about for several years. They particularly liked the idea of a bison ranch. A few years earlier, Matthew had read a book by Yvon Chouinard for the Patagonia company, called “Let My People Go Surfing – The Education of a Reluctant Businessman”. The book is a reflective memoir of a man who brought doing good and having grand adventures into the heart of his business life. It is about environmental responsibility, and well as entrepreneurship. This book inspired Matthew. It made him curious about ranching and food quality. Still, it felt like one of those ‘someday’ dreams.
As the Galeckis were waiting for their flight back to Charlotte, they had a serious conversation about making ‘someday’ happen quickly. With the tragedy of their friend’s passing and the perspective of mortality as a catalyst, the Galeckis decided that they were going to start looking for land and possibly a farm.
When they landed back in Charlotte, Kayla’s mom, also in Florida, texted her with more bad news. Kayla’s Grandma had suddenly been put into hospice with an estimate of mere days left to live. Kayla turned right around and went back to Florida to be with her immediate family. After her grandmother’s passing, it became 100% clear to the Galeckis that they should take that risk, make the change, and try something new.
Matthew called his parents, Sharal and Kevin, who were living in Washington DC at that time. He asked if they’d be interested in buying a farm together. They said yes, right away.
Sharal had run retail antique booth in Orlando and participated in many antique shows throughout the southeast. Growing up, however, her father was a rodeo cowboy. Sharal’s family traveled frequently to local rodeos where he eventually began training horses. More than Kevin, Matthew, or Kayla, Sharal had the most experience in the farming world.
Kevin, was heavily involved with restoring antiques while primarily working with Century Link as a real estate developer. Later, he, too, ended up at United Healthcare as an insurance advisor for small businesses, as well as self-employed individuals. Despite maintaining that career to this day, Kevin was also eager to join Kayla and Matthew.
The first order of business was to find a house and farm. As it happened, Meadows of Dan was the first place they chose to look. Kayla was immediately enamored with the area, saying to Matthew how cute the town was and how perfect a place it would be for a coffee shop.
Kayla had worked in the craft coffee industry for many years in Orlando, with friends Nathan Seta and Lisa Puckey. They owned a cafe called Duo58. Kayla volunteered with them for two years during their start-up in college, then came on full time as a Barista Manager and Catering Sales Manager for a little over a year.
Despite how perfect Meadows of Dan looked for a coffee shop, however, they didn’t find a home or farm there. The search continued, with wistful thoughts of Meadows and coffee shops behind them. The couple drove all around North Carolina and Virginia, looking at over thirty properties before finally making a decision.
In January of 2021, the Galeckis bought their new home and farm in Woolwine, about twenty miles northeast from Meadows of Dan. The funny part was, at the time they bought the farm, they didn’t realize how close it was to that little place Kayla had found so charming.
Once the new home had been found, however, it was time to get down to some serious work. While still in Florida, Matthew had worked at 4 Rivers BBQ from the time he was seventeen until he was twenty-four. He held several positions with the company, but eventually became Kitchen Manager. After leaving 4 Rivers, he became Fishing Manager at Gander Mountain until they closed the company. He then joined Kayla at United Healthcare where he worked for over five years as an insurance sales agent before moving up to Manager. When he and Kayla moved to Charlotte, Matthew had worked his way up to Field Sales Leader. It was in this capacity that he was to assist with opening a new office there.
In different ways, each job contributed to Matthew learning farming. Though he had no formal training or prior experience with farming, he jumped in with both feet and started learning as much as he could as fast as he could. Many locals were generous with their knowledge, and every month, a visiting friend or family member would help out. The Galeckis are grateful to everyone who gave their time so generously, expecting nothing in return. “You don’t find people like these on the regular!” says Kayla.
To learn more, Matthew watched lots of Youtube videos and started attending conferences. He even hired farm manager, Luke Kidwell. Luke had been working for several years for a farm in Maine, focusing mostly on pigs. The Galeckis tell us that Luke has been a blessing, and that he plans to grow the pork production of Primitive Farms in 2023.
With a primary focus of providing quality food to the community, and with each member of the family contributing significantly, Primitive Farms currently produces poultry, eggs, pork, and lamb; supplying meat to many local restaurants and farmer’s markets.
With the first few months of farm work under their belts, the Galeckis found themselves driving along the Parkway close to home. About twenty miles southwest of home, actually. Imagine their surprise when they realized they were back in the first place they’d visited when searching for a farm! They had no idea that Meadows of Dan was so close by. While exploring and rediscovering the tiny hamlet, they just happened to see a ‘for rent’ sign hanging on space number four at 2577 Jeb Stuart Highway. They met with Sarah, owner of Mod Salon, as well as building owners, Casey and Felicia Sheilor. It all just felt so right. Even though they’d just bought a new home and started a farm only five months earlier, they wasted no time. In June of 2021, the Galeckis signed a lease on Primitive Coffee Market in Meadows of Dan!
Suddenly, there was a second business venture to focus on, but no need to worry about Matthew’s parents being left holding the feed bucket! While all still living in Orlando, they had talked about one day creating a shop together. With the opportunity now before them, they decided to combine all their passions: Kayla with her coffee, Matthew with his farming and food, and Sharal and Kevin with antiques and home goods.
The primary focus, however, is in the name. Because Orlando is a thriving coffee hub, Kayla had the opportunity to not only learn from a population of coffee enthusiasts, but to also gain different cultural perspectives. She also traveled to Turkey, Greece, Asia, and many other areas around the globe. With every trip, she kept a journal in which she sketched the cafes she visited and made notes on what she loved about them. She also took notes about the different drinks and the preparation methods behind them. Her goal was to combine anti human trafficking efforts with a coffee shop of her own.
During her travels in Asia, she had the chance to work with a bakery/cafe that rescued women from human trafficking. The business provided these women with work and housing as they healed from the trauma.
Kayla fell in love with the industry and the power it had to connect with people. She realized, however, that if she wanted to own her own coffee shop one day, she’d first have to work in a different career to save up the capital. From the coffee scene in Orlando, she transitioned several times. She launched her own wedding coordinating company, then an art company, then established herself full time with United Healthcare. For ten years, Kayla saved until the tragic events that set her and Matthew on the path to Primitive Farms.
It took about four months to get all the permits approved and to remodel the property. It was more hard work, and even Kayla’s mother came up from Florida to help out. On October 9 of 2021, however, Primitive Coffee Market opened to the public!
Primitive Coffee Market also contains a farm store inside, featuring farm items from Primitive Farms, as well as many other local producers. Visitors can also find homemade baked items, home goods, restored antiques, and local farm produce!
It has certainly been a fun and challenging adventure for the Galeckis, with moving to a new state and opening two new companies in the first year. They were amazingly supported by their community in Florida, as well as by their new community in Virginia. They are grateful and thankful for all the really good friendships they have made along the way.
“Life is short,” says Kayla. “No one is promise tomorrow. It’s worth taking risks and pursuing a life you actually want. To live in the present. You only get one.”
“If you would have told us before Brian died,” Kayla continues, “that we would be one day living in Virginia running a cafe and farm, we would have laughed at you and disagreed. We had a comfortable, good life in the city.”
The Galeckis feel, however, that a higher power used a tragic moment to redirect them and to challenge them. They also feel that if Brian were still alive, he’d have already joined them.

Primitive Coffee Market • Primitive Farms • Kayla and Matthew Galecki
Open daily: 8:00am – 5:00pm • closed on Wednesdays
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